Misc Monday – February 22nd edition – 2 week update
So much, so much, so much. I feel like I’m letting my loyal followers down. At the beginning of the year I wanted to make a concentrated effort to post regular content. I started with a new 365 project, weekly Monday updates and Gear Wednesdays. I’ve run into a few hiccups already. Yup, I missed 2 Mondays already and I also missed my first picture of my 365 this week. I also missed a Gear Wednesday post. So I really need to step this back up for ya’ll!
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Lots more work happened on the home reno front. I’m excited to finish the bathroom and show you some shots. It looks great and I can’t wait to have a full bathroom again. The only downside is that this means the next project has to start. I guess I can always just leave it hanging! I’d better not say that as Susie reads this every day…
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I also delivered the final images to Krista & Mark. You can see all the goodness here.
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My kids just aren’t saying anything cute these days, so no new posts on the twitter site.
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Also, my google reader account is getting backed up. I just downloaded a cool app for my iPhone, so I can now read my favourite blogs while out and about.
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Did I hear that Photoshop turned 20 this week? That is amazing. It is such a great tool. Does anyone out there not use it? If so, please comment below! I’m always interested in hearing what else people are using.
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Well, that’s it for now, just a few quick hits. It’s getting late and I need to eat dinner before heading off to bed. I know my drive in to work tomorrow won’t be fun.
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Here’s a quick shot from a wedding I was a second shooter for last summer.
Gear Wednesdays – Gear Bags
Tonight I wanted to shed some light on what holds all of our gear. Our Gear bags. I took this photo a few weeks ago before the last wedding I shot.
On the left you can see a small Lowepro Canon bag. This was the first bag I had purchased. Back in the day, it was good enough. I only had my Rebel XT and 1 lens. Then I purchased my next lens, then another, then a flash, then some accessories. So as I kept adding gear, I never upgraded my bag. So off to every photoshoot with the same little Lowepro. Finally this year, my wife gave me this new lowerpro backpack for Christmas. Best gift ever.
As you start to purchase more gear it is equally important to upgrade how you transport your gear from site to site.
Misc Monday – February 8th edition – 2 week update
Hello fellow readers and photographers. What happened to me last week? I don’t know. I goofed. I knew it was going all wrong when it was groundhog day and I still didn’t post. It made me think back to the movie. I had planned a great Monday article, but that’s the problem, I only planned it. So this week, I didn’t plan it. I’m just going it at full tilt.
So my 365 reached it’s 1 month mark. I’ve done great and haven’t missed a day. I need to start taking more walks at lunch and taking pictures. There’s only so much you can photograph in your house.
On Thursday of last week, I discovered a great new band. Airbourne. If you’re an AC/DC fan, I highly recommend checking them out. They pick up where AC/DC should have stopped 10 years ago.
We also did a bunch of home renovations. I’m trying not to take pictures of them until they are all finished. So stay tuned for those in about another 2 months or so.
So tonight I’m finishing up some images from my last wedding. It’s been a while since I shot a wedding, so I’m having a great time with these pictures. There are so many winners in this batch.
Gear Wednesdays – Modifying flash
Hello fellow photographers and internet friends. Tonight I wanted to show you a few different ways of modifying your flash. For my model tonight, I used my Ibanez 7 string guitar. My wife just didn’t feel like being in front of the camera again.
As I showed in my 365 pic from yesterday, we’re going to modify the light using an umbrella. I have a 32″ photoflex umbrella. It cost about $40.00 at Henrys.
From Left to right:
Direct flash – It lightens up the image but doesn’t have even lighting across the guitar. Mostly a nice big hotspot on the bottom right.
Direct flash with Gary Fong – Still pointing the flash right at the guitar, so you still have a hot spot on the bottom right, with the light a little more diffused.
Flash bounced inside the umbrella - Now we’re starting to get somewhere. As we get a bigger lighting source, the light gets a little better. It’s still not covering everything, but the lighting is softer.
Flash in Shoot Through – Ahhh, here we go. Nice even light. Big light source. The lighting even reaches the top of the guitar.
That’s our short lesson for tonight. I’m really excited to keep working with off camera flash and diffusing the light. Stay tuned for more episodes.
Gear Wednesday – January 27th 2010 – L vs non-L glass and focal lengths
So tonight I wanted to try and make up a little for last week. Yup, I goofed and missed. So tonight I bring you L vs non-L glass. Also, I wanted to show you what some focal lengths look like from different lenses So here goes:
All images are pretty boring to look at, but are all identical. I would like to repeat this test with a much nicer shot, maybe outdoors next time.
The pictures are straight out of the camera, only resized for web. The camera settings are all:
ISO800 & shutter speed of 1/15th
First up is a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 70mm vs a 70-200mm f/4.0 lens at 70mm
Notice how the longer lens is actually a little bit tighter than the wide angle.
Next up is a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 35mm vs a Canon 22-55mm f/4-5.6 at 35mm
I first noticed that the second lens is a little bit brighter as well it seems to point up a little bit more. The brightness may be due to more of the lightbulb peering through.
Next up is a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 50mm vs a Canon 50mm f/1.8 at 50mm(duh)
Again, notice how the Nifty 50 is a little bit brighter? Also, it seems to crop in just a little bit more than the 24-70.
Well…What’s the verdict? 1 lens vs 3? Let’s discuss.
Misc Monday – January 25th edition – Happy Robbie Burns Day
What a week. Welcome Internet to another session of Misc Monday, where I recap what happened (or didn’t) this week.
First up. DOH. I was actually sick enough to miss a Gear Wednesday post. Yes folks Week 3 and I’m already goofing up. Well, to be honest I was sick…and so was everyone else in my house except for my wife. For some reason Susie doesn’t get sick, she only breaks bones or gets hurt really really bad. Not a great trade up if you ask me. So I promise you that this Wednesday will have an awesome post with lots of greatness. You’ll want to stay tuned for that.
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Adorama Launches The Ultimate iPhone Photo Contest
Here’s the link:
The best part! It’s even open to us Canucks.
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A Visit to Ansel Adams’ Home
http://www.silberstudios.tv/previous-shows/ansel-adams-home/
I stumbled across this from Ken Rockwell’s blog. It’s a great little look into one of Photography’s masters. Personally, I think he was also a Photoshop wiz, well Lightroom…well darkroom.
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RUSH Among 2010 CANADIAN SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME Inductees
YES! Rush Rules!
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I also shot my first wedding of 2010. Here’s a sneak peek from the night.
http://www.ninelivephotography.ca/2010/01/24/january-23rd-2010-my-386-krista-mark-lawrence/
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That’s it for me right now. Off to shoot another 365 shot and start editing the pics so that they can be ready for when the couple gets home.
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And I always and with a pic…this is one of my favourites from Cuba.
January 18th 2010 – my 365 – Jumping kids
Every night before bed, the kids play on their old crib mattress. They love, no more monkeys jumping on the bed. Tonight, we used some off camera flash, sync’d with my cybersyncs. Off camera right, 1/2 power. I was bouncing it off my bathroom door. Now my shutter speed was about 400/sec so you may notice some black lines on the right. This is due to syncing of the flash, the higher you go with your shutter speed the more of this blackness appears. So I kept Desiree to the left side of the camera so that I could capture her in mid air jumping.
Tonight, I’m also adding my outakes because she’s just too darn cute.
Misc Monday – January 18th edition
Another week done. So many things happened this week. Mostly from Friday until Sunday. Monday-Friday was the same old. 9-5, then 5-9. Had a great conversation with my bride for next weekends wedding. One week to go for the lovely Krista and Mark.
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My Wife went to Home Depot on Sunday to get our tile, for our bathroom reno project. In 2 weeks we tile the bathtub. I can’t wait, I’ve never tiled before. However, as she was reaching for a box of tiles, one slipped and landed right on her middle and ring fingers. She ended up going to the hospital and the X-Ray showed she sprained her middle finger and broker her ring finger. A nice hairline fracture. 4-6 weeks for healing.
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Thanks for the awesome [b]ecker, he gave a shout of to this link:
Is Anything real?
http://designblog.reddoorla.com/inspiration/is-anything-real/
It’s worth checking out. Think about it as well all you “reality tv” fans…
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Tweet of the week: Does it get any better than when you iPod plays back to back rush songs??? It’s like it knows
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From my google reader. These are my starred items for the week:
A great, and long, post about the current and future state of the music industry:
http://www.brianbuchanan.org/2010/01/10/21st-century-rockstardom/
How to Evaluate Wedding Photographers at a Bridal Show. This was a great post, not only because my friend and fellow Wedding photographer is in it, but because I attended the spring wedding show as a pedestrian and not a vendor. I walked the show floor talking to other photographers and it was a 50/50 split of friendly vs foe. Now, this article doesn’t talk about that, but it does give some great advise to all you future brides and grooms out there. This year might be my first time attending a show as a vendor, so stay tuned for those details much later this year.
http://www.ispwp.com/how-to-evaluate-wedding-photographers-at-a-bridal-show.html
The Ibanez Universe 20th Anniversary & Jem Design Contest. I love Ibanez guitars and man I would love to own one of these. I played an original one at Steve in Montreal many years ago, but that was it. Now I do have my own Ibanez 7 string, but it ain’t as cool as owning this puppy:
http://www.vai.com/News/index.html
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That’s it for this week. Lots of work up ahead, both weddings and renovations.
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Here’s an old picture from the first wedding I shot.
Misc Monday – January 11th edition
Another crazy week. Talking to quite a few clients for 2010. Firming up timing, just saying hi, booking new couples. This week was great. I love chatting with everyone. As I near my next couples wedding I get exciting. It feels great to know that you are going to make images that this couple will keep for life.
So onto another edition of Misc Monday. Let’s recap:
Tweets of the week:
mykidstweets: Desiree: you guys are head in the nuts
thebecker: i have my very own iPhone apps to help you follow my blog & tweets. check out http://bit.ly/beckapp & http://bit.ly/tbsapp (opens iTunes)
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Becker – Yes I am jealous and envious that you have your own apps. I wish I had my own now.
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From the music world -
Savatage has a new Greatest Hits package coming out in March. I can’t wait.
The Slayer, Megadeth, Testament show in Toronto has been postponed again. Boo!
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Canon has released an update to their EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens. You can read all about it here
I purchased the F/4 a few months ago. I still think it’s great. So now that all the awesome people are going to go out and buy the new one, I’ll be in line to pick up their old ones off Kijiji!
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I follow Digital Photography School in my Google Reader. They put out a great article this week about setting some photographic goals for 2010. I think I may sign up for some of these as well.
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I think that’s it for today. Lots on the go as always. New Renovations in the house are going to be happening soon, pics to follow.
and a little something from the archives again:
January 8th 2010 – my 365
Tonight we taught Desiree how to play Wii. She only wanted to play Bowling. She learned really fast and her high score of 93 almost beat out mine of 95. In case you didn’t know..she’s 4.
Misc Monday – January 4th edition
Wow. So much to talk about. I could recap 2009, but my goal for Misc Mondays is to talk about all the great stuff from this past week. I’m not sure how many loyal readers I have, but for those of you that do follow me, thank you!
December 28th to Jan 3rd
First up – Happy New Years. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New years. I ended up driving from Burlington to St-Donat. It only took 8.5 hours
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I had a great dinner at Le Milsa with my friends from Belden. Check it out
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I started a 365 challenge for 2010. My goal is to post 1 photo per day. It may be from my camera or my iPhone. Here’s the first post
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I love my google reader. I think it has replaced the newspapers for me. I sometimes forget to see what is going on in the world because I am only reading what’s in there. I think I’ll have to put down my computer and my ipod and maybe listen to the radio or read a newspaper for 2010.
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I love twitter and I love my kids. They say the craziest things. So I started a new spot to write down everything they say.
http://twitter.com/mykidstweets
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Well, that’s it for now. I know it’s not much, but stay tuned as always. Lots of great things coming down the pipe.
Also, as one of my photographer(J*) friends says, posts are always better with a photo, here’s an old school photo of me from when I had hair.
Behind the scenes – Help Portrait – Milton, Ontario, Canada
Here are some of the little details and behind the scenes work from our help portrait event in Milton, Ontario @ the Darling House for Kids.
Location: Darling Home for Kids City: Milton, Ontario, CanadaPhotographers: Tom Cahill, Alan Nielsen, Brenda Johnson, Michael Mccrea, Adrian C.
Desiree marshmallow thief guilty as charged
This is what happens when you turn your back for a few minutes and leave a 4 year old alone…
Anixter Canada – ECS Toronto Team Photo
What a good looking bunch eh! This is the best team that Anixter Toronto in their ECS division has had since 2000. To help celebrate we did a group shot, minus a few faces. Congrats everyone!
…and the leaders of the pack…
My day in music today
So today I had the chance to finally catch up on some albums that needed listening too. I got to listen to the new Gwar, new Testament and New Cradle of Filth. Yup, I’m a wedding photographer who loves the Metal! Also, while I was following up on some blog posts, I checked out my google reader for the daily updates on Blabbermouth. I found this amazing kid from Sweden Erik Gronwall. Seriously, check this guy out. He nailed Queen, Iron Maiden, Michael Jackson and so many more. I just spent about 30 minutes watching his videos. I really wish Canadian Idol and American Idol would have more metal. Also, some other felow photographers have posted this Joey Lawrence video. It is awesome for all the Nikon vs Canon (I’m a Canon) debaters out there:
http://www.joeyl.com/blog/post-163/The-Photo-Club-my-alter-ego-is-born
Also, I believe Jasmine Star said it best. No blog post is complete without a picture. It just feels empty without something. So here’s a shot of
Ian Thornley from a clinic he did in Oakville.
Milton Help Portrait event tomorrow
Team Milton’s Help portrait event is taking place tomorrow December 5th. We chose the Darling Home for Kids. Now the official “event” date is the 12th, but they asked us for the 5th. So stay tuned tomorrow for twitter update and blog posts.
Run pumpkin…you too Hayden
I love getting to spend one on one time with just one of my kids. In the past, I’ve created other sets of Desiree – Cleaning, crawling, putting stickers all over herself. I haven’t had the chance to create some Hayden sets. So here is the first of many more to come. Enjoy!
Happy Halloween – [b]ecker pumpkin
Halloween time again. This year I decided to pay homage to one of my favourite photographers, [b]ecker. I decided to carve his logo into one of my pumpkins. The weather was cold and the wind was blowing! This didn’t stop the kids though. We hit all the houses in our complex this year. Now while they sleep us loving parents will “go through” all of their candy to make sure it’s all safe! Bless their innocent souls. Now I know what my parents did to me and my brother as kids.
Oakville Photographer – CJ’s Cafe in Bronte
A shot inside of CJ’s Cafe in Bronte. Stopped by for a coffee a few weeks ago.
http://www.cjscafeinbronte.com/
Burlington Ontario Photographer – Duck in Lake Ontario
Another shot from my Froud Family shoot. This time was a lone duck.
Burlington Photographer – Lake Ontario in Oakville
This is a shot from my photoshoot with the Froud Family. Lots of fishermen out this morning.
Happy Birthday to me
It’s my birthday. Spent the day at work, then the evening with my wife. The kids were at my parents. Now time to watch some Dexter then off to bed.
Here’s a picture my 3 year old took of me this summer. I still held the camera while she fired off a few pics.
